?Chapter 1121:


    She couldn’t form a single word, but her fingers curled weakly around his. The faint squeeze gave him her answer.


    Outside, sirens wailed through the night, red and blue lights shing across the dark streets.


    Drake might have slipped away, but the police had caught most of his men. Under questioning, they cracked quickly, spilling almost everything about the organization.


    The manhunt for the remaining Erebus members was already underway, and the authorities were certain it wouldn’t take long to bring them in.


    As for Nina, after the shooting incident, she was taken into custody and was now awaiting the legal consequences of her actions.


    Ste had spent the past few days in the hospital, and her condition was steadily improving. That afternoon, just after lunch, her phone began to ring. When she checked the screen and saw Daniel’s name shing, a faint frown crossed her face.


    “Ste, I heard about your injury. Is it bad? Tell me which hospital you’re in. Norene and I want to drop by and see you.” His voice carried a forced sympathy, the kind that tried too hard to sound genuine.


    Keeping her tone calm and distant, Ste said, “Daniel, could you skip the pleasantries and get straight to the point?”


    Daniel gave a strainedugh. “Actually, Norene and I wanted to invite you to dinner. We thought it’d be nice to apologize in person. After all, we’re still family, right?”


    Ste nced over at William, who silently shook his head, his message clear enough.


    With a steady tone, she responded, “I appreciate the offer, but there’s really no reason for us to share a meal.”


    Daniel’s voice carried a trace of disappointment, though he tried to mask it with forced cheer. “I get it. You’re still recovering and need rest. We’ll set it up some other time. But Ste, I admit Nina went too far this time, and I won’t defend her anymore.”


    Ste’s brows lifted slightly. Was Daniel really giving up on his daughter?


    Before she could respond, he pressed on, “By the way, I recall you once attended a seminar. Did you happen to run into Secretary Barrett? He and I go way back—we were ssmates years ago.”


    Secretary Barrett served as a government official.


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    Keeping her tone t, Ste said, “There were too many people that day. I honestly don’t remember.”


    “That’s all right. I won’t bother you any further!”


    After setting her phone down, Ste turned to William with a contemtive look. “Do you think he’s trying to use me to form political connections?”


    William let out a short, derisiveugh. “Daniel’spany has been struggling recently. It seems he’s trying to take advantage of your connections to pull himself up. But it’s strange—he reached out to you now, and not about Nina. That doesn’t add up.”


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